Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512911
14 INTERVIEW maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 DECEMBER 2023 Trust Barometer: Abela points but 41% trust neither THE latest MaltaToday survey shows Prime Minister Robert Abela increasing his trust lead over Opposition leader Bernard Grech by two points. Bernard Grech has seen his trust rating drop by 2.5 points, compared to last month's MaltaToday survey. On the other hand, the Prime Minister's trust rating has dipped by half a percentage point. This means that the gap between the two leaders has increased from 14.4 points last month, to 16.4 points now. But the survey now shows that a relative majority of 41.3% trust neither of the two political leaders. The percentage of respond- ents who distrust both leaders has increased by 2.9 points since last month. 44.4% of PN voters distrust Grech Moreover, in a sign that Bernard Grech's leadership remains on shaky ground, a stag- gering 42.3% of PN voters in the 2022 gener- al election, trust neither of the two political leaders while a further 2.2% trust Abela. This means that Grech is only trusted by 55.6% of PN voters in the 2022 general election. Even among respondents who currently intend voting PN, a substantial 32.5% trust neither Grech nor Abela. Grech's poor trust rating suggests that he remains his party's weakest link in contrast to Abela who is trusted by 70.6% of PL voters in 2022 and by 83.4% of current PL voters. Moreover, Grech remains less trusted than Abela in the crucial category of current non-voters. In this category while 24.3% trust Abela only 2.9% trust Grech. This means that Labour may have more room for future growth among this category then the PN. Still, despite retaining a substantial lead over Grech, the situation is far from rosy for Abela, who is still distrusted by a substantial 27.7% of Labour voters in 2022, as was the case last month. Moreover 15.9% of current Labour voters trust neither of the two lead- ers. Distrust of leaders highest among middle income earners The survey shows that the highest percent- age of respondents who trust neither of the two leaders is found among those earning between €2,000 and €3,000 a month. In this category a remarkable 56.2% trust neither of the two leaders. These are followed by those earning a monthly income of between €1,000 and €2,000, among which 44.5% trust neither leader. Lower levels of distrust are registered by those earning less than €1,000 a month (34.9%), those earning between €3,000 and €4,000 a month (36.2%) and those earning more than €4,000 a month (39.6%). This suggests that distrust in the political establishment is highest among those in the middle-income brackets. This tallies with high levels of distrust among both post-sec- ondary educated and tertiary educated vot- ers, among which over 52% trust neither leader. Both the Prime Minister and the Oppo- sition leader register their lowest trust rat- ing among those earning between €2,000 and €3,000 a month, among which Abela is trusted by 31.5% and Grech by just 12.3%. But while Abela is most trusted by those earning less than €1,000 (39.3%) Grech gets his best rating among those earning be- tween €3,000 and €4,000 (27.6%). Majority of young voters distrust both lead- ers Like last month, the survey shows a high- er level of distrust in the two leaders among the 16- to 35-year-olds (52.9%) and those aged between 36 and 50 (49.2%). But the current survey shows an increase in dis- trust among those aged between 51 and 65, among which those who distrust both lead- ers have increased from 37.1% to 49.2%. Both leaders enjoy their higher trust rating among over 65-year-olds, where only 17.9% distrust both leaders. Compared to last month Abela has seen his trust rating improve by 4 points among 16- to 35-year-olds and by 4.8 points among those aged 36 to 50. On the other hand, Grech gained 3 points among over 65-year- olds. Abela leads in all regions A relative majority of respondents in four regions, namely the Northern Harbour (38.1%), the Western region (47%), the Northern region (42.4%) and Gozo (49.2%), trust neither of the two leaders. As was the case last month, Abela enjoys a lead over Grech in all six regions. But his level of trust varies from just 32.6% in the North Harbour region to 48.4% in the South Harbour district. Grech's worst performance is in the South- eastern region, where he enjoys the trust of only 13.5% of respondents. 2022 Voters 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0 PL 2022 PN 2022 No vote 2022 60.3% 5.4% 0.4% 33.9% 3.6% 9.6% 22% 10.6% 15.4% 13.9% 60% PL PN Other Will not vote 2022 Voters 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 PL 2022 PN 2022 No vote 2022 70.6% 1.8% 27.7% 2.2% 55.6% 42.3% 20.6% 6.8% 72.5% Robert Abela Bernard Grech None Trust Barometer Profile of Non-voters Education 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 17% 27.4% 37.6% 33.6% Robert Abela Bernard Grech None 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 37.5 21.1 41.3 All Voters PL 47.3% Other 9.6% PN 43.1% Age 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0 16-35 36-50 51-65 65+ 25.8% 25.8% 8.4% 40.1% 28.6% 27.4% 7.2% 36.8% 33.7% 28.6% 7.3% 30.4% 42.7% 37.5% 4.3% 15.6% PL PN Other Will not vote Age 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 16-35 36-50 51-65 65+ 32.8% 14.3% 52.9% 35.6% 15.2% 49.2% 33.8% 16.9% 49.3% 46.4% 35.7% 17.9% Robert Abela Bernard Grech None Voting Intentions Trust Barometer All Voters Robert Abela Bernard Grech None 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 37.5 21.1 41.3 All Voters Polling and market research since 2002 Nov 2023 Dec 2023 Trust barometer by 2022 voting Trust barometer by age JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt